How to Beat a Bounty
by CoverGirl7210
Summary: The masked man is angry he didn't receive his gold, he'd captured and delivered Hiccup Haddock, only to get rocks. "I'll deliver the boy to Viggo, myself." Can Stoick and the teens save Hiccup? I own nothing
1. Chapter 1

The Island was starting to come into view in an agonizing pace, Stoick and the other teens picking up speed upon sight of the rushing movements "Looks like our boy outsmarted them again, eh Toothless?"

The Night Fury shrugs, he didn't care about any of that, he just wanted to see one sign of his rider.

"They're all running around, doesn't look like they're chasing anyone." States Heather

"So if the dragon hunters aren't chasing, then what? They're the ones being pursued?" Question Fishlegs

"That doesn't make any sense, Fishlegs." States Astrid "The only ones on that Island are Hiccup and the masked man."

"Blah, blah, blah can we just go save Hiccup already?" Scoffs Snotlout annoyingly

"Fight, fight, fight, fight!" Chants the twins "We are so ready for a blood bath!"

"There will be no blood bath!" Declares Stoick, shocking the twins into silence "We're here for Hiccup and that's all, we only fight if we have to."

"So there's not going to be any blood, gore or violence?" Asks Tuffnut, the male twin receives a horde of annoyed looks "What? No harm in asking"

Stoick rolls his eyes as the group reaches the island, right hand patting the top of his boy's Dragons head "Anything, Toothless?"

The dragons ears rise up, his head moving from one direction to another, a growl emitted from his mouth at the sound of footsteps approaching.

Toothless releases a powerful plasma blast, smacking directly in front of the fleeing dragon hunters that suddenly appeared, the sheep taking off in the other direction.

Stoick angrily lifts a dazed Ryker by his neck "Where's Hiccup?"

Ryker coughs, his blue eyes wandering, before he smiles "Have ya lost a little something important to ya? Chief"

Stoick drops the hunter, Toothless now holding the man in place, the teens surround and secure the other men "I'm not gonna ask again, Where is my son?"

"That boy of yours is long gone, Stoick. The masked man wasn't to pleased when he didn't get any gold."

"Viggo went back on his deal?" Breathes Fishlegs in shock

Ryker laughs once again "Viggo has no part in this, my brother and I have a different opinion regarding your son. I want him gone, my brother wants someone to toy with."

"So you set the entire bounty up? By yourself?" Asks Heather

"I may not be as smart as my brother, lass, but I can still come up with plans."

"So you pissed off the mysterious and unknown masked man, got chased by some little sheep and lost Hiccup?" Laughs Snotlout

Ryker glares "For the time being, yes I've lost my prize, but-" the hunter is silenced by a hard hit to his face.

Stoick reels back, his green eyes widened upon sight of the many hunter ships and one Viggo Grimborn standing before him.

"I must say, it truly is a pleasure to meet you, Chief Stoick Haddock."

Stoick drops the now unconscious man, his muscular frame moving towards the smaller brother "You've got a lot of nerve coming after my boy."

Viggo smirks "Alas it wasn't me that came for your boy, Stoick. In fact, my imbecile of a brother laying there came up with this entire scheme."

"Have you come to gloat?" Questions Astrid

Viggo glares at his elder brothers form, his right hand revealed to be clutching a large brown sack "Quite the opposite. In fact I'm here to help, my dear Astrid"

"Uh, no offense man, but the last person we need help from is you." Speaks Ruffnut

"What exactly do ya want to help us with?" Asks Stoick apprehensively

"My good name has been rolled in the pies, the entire archipelago believes I set an enormous bounty on the head of Hiccup Haddock."

"Boo hoo! We don't care about your good name" labels Snotlout

"But I still do and therein lies the problem, the boy was properly captured and delivered, yet the man received no gold, Ryker went back on his bargain and that is something I will not tolerate."

"So what? Hunt the masked man down, give him the gold and you take Hiccup? Does anyone see how that helps us, at all?" Talks Tuffnut

Viggo drops the now open bag of gold at Stoick's feet "Whether you believe me or not, I've got great plans for Hiccup Haddock, I can't afford to have him held in enemy clutches."

Stoick stares at the many gold bricks, his anger boiling "You think I'll just sell out my son for this?"

Viggo begins to back away, the hunters leveling arrows and dragging Rykers unconscious form "You misunderstand me, Stoick Haddock. The masked man wants the gold, you now have it, he'll come to you for a trade. What you must decide now, is if your son's worth all of Berks gold."

Stoick and the teens watch as the hunters disappear upon the savage seas "Search the island"

The teens all nod and fly in separate directions, Stoick bends down to lift the heavy bag of gold.

"It's all here, Toothless. Every last grain of gold we lost"

Toothless coos as he attempts consoling the ailing father "As Chief it's my duty to do what's best for my people, but as a father ... "

"Stoick! Chief we found something!" Yells Astrid, she and Stormfly hovering above.

Stoick wastes no time, hopping on Toothless and four fly a little ways into the clearing "I don't see anything lass"

Astrid points towards a few scuff marks "There, those marks are fresh and from what looks like a fight"

Stoick takes the marks into consideration, they were definitely from some sort of scuffle, a rolling scuffle to be exact "Have ya found where they lead?"

Astrid nods sadly, Stromfly squaks as the pair move over, revealing the large drop

Stoick's eyes widen upon sight of the cliff, a fall like that could seriously injure a young teen "Oh, son"

Astrid holds her arms as her head turns away, she couldn't imagine Hiccup falling to his death

Stoick slowly removes himself from Toothless, allowing the dragon to jump from the high cliff, into the waters below "Don't give up hope, lass"

Astrid wipes tears from her eyes, Stoick was right, she couldn't give up on Hiccup so easily, he had to still be alive.

"Call the others, Toothless is going to need everyone's help to search"

Stormfly lets loose her distress signal, flying down Astrid and Stoick In the process, the humans eagerly jumping into the shallow waters.

 **What has become of Hiccup? Find out soon! By the way, best episode ever :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Hours were spent trudging the body of water, but no Hiccup was found, the others had zero luck in finding any trace of the missing boy as well.

"Where could he be? It's like Hiccup just vanished" whispered Fishlegs tiredly as his head rises from the water.

Astrid rising right beside him "We know he fell down here, Hiccup has to be here!"

The blonde quickly going back under as Snotlout appears "Well he's not now! That masked man must have him"

Stoick sighs "I think you're right, Snotlout. My son obviously isn't here, that man must still have him"

The twins stop attempting to drown each other and Astrid rises once more "Change of plan, you two" Stoick points at the drenched twins "Write down exactly what I say"

The twins rush out of the water, each clutching a pen and paper "What do ya want us to say, Chief?"

... 

Meanwhile, the masked man sat docked upon his small vessel, safely hidden from sight, his hand clutching onto the boy's prosthetic leg.

Hiccup had tried to kill him, but he honestly couldn't blame the teen, he was in fact holding the young heir prisoner.

The man couldn't help but smile as the memory of the boy's shocked and terrified face replays, seconds after he began to free fall another length of chain he'd had wrapped around the boy's only ankle, pulling Hiccup down alongside him.

After that it was mere child's play lugging the unconscious teen away from the scene.

His dark gaze leers down to the unconscious boy, Hiccup huddled together below his feet, he knew it wouldn't be too much longer before the boy awoke.

But he also knew that the rescue party hadn't left the island, if Hiccup were to wake, he'd alert them to his whereabouts.

The masked man had to lay low, find a way to keep his captive silent and hidden somewhere even a dragon couldn't find.

Many ideas shot through his head, he could hide Hiccup in a cave, tie the boy to a tree, keep him below deck, but none of those options worked in keeping the dragons away, he's gotten lucky the boy's scent had yet to reach the beasts.

There had to be a place, one no Dragon would ever think to look, one that would keep Hiccup nice and quiet for him, one the teen wouldn't have a prayer of escaping.

A switch was flipped in his mind as finally the answer came to him, there was one exact hiding spot that would fulfill all those options and more. Luckily he'd been tasked with working on a little assignment for Drago that would be the perfect tool.

... 

"And done! It's all here Chief Haddock" declares Tuffnut proudly

Stoick nods "Good, go spread the word and meet us back here afterwards, I've got a feeling Hiccup is still on this island"

Ruff and Tuff eagerly jump upon their dragons necks "Putting a bounty on a bounty hunter? I love it!" Yells Ruffnut

"What do you want us to do?" Questions Astrid, her gaze unmoving as the three disappeared into the horizon.

"We'll keep searching the island, the only way off would be by dragon or boat" states Stoick

Fishlegs smiles "And since there's no way Hiccup would train a dragon for his captor, they're held up on a ship!"

Stoick nods "Aye, now lets go find my son"

... 

The masked man wipes the sweat from his brow, he'd just finished locking away the prisoner, where Hiccup was, no one would ever think to look.

He couldn't help but remember the exact moment he secured Hiccup inside, the teen had been just awakening.

 ** _Hiccup's eyes slowly began to flutter as he could feel his captors presence, the boy fought to cease the throbbing in his head as memories of the past began to flood his mind._**

 ** _He'd tried to kill someone ... No, he just didn't attempt to save his captor, the man who currently still had him._**

 ** _The clanking of chains, the pull of his arms behind his back, shackles clicking into place._**

 ** _Hiccup goes to scream out for the man to stop, only to be stopped due to the pain in his neck, thick metal still wrapped around his frail appendage._**

 ** _Realization hit full force, agony surged through out his limbs as Hiccup tugged and pulled any way possible._**

 ** _"I warned you not to try that again" comes the voice of masked man_**

 ** _Hiccup glares, if looks could kill that Viking would be dead ten times over. The masked man sneers in response, reaching forwards to grab a lone stretchy cloth._**

 ** _"What are you doing? You know you're not going to get away with this" Declares Hiccup as the man draws nearer, cloth now directly in front of his lips._**

 ** _"Viggo won't give you anything for me! There's no point in keeping me prisoner!"_**

 ** _The cloth is fashioned over the teens wailing mouth and tightly secured behind the captives head "I will get my gold"_**

 ** _Hiccup struggles as a glass dome shape container is used to cover his prison, small latches hooking the two plates together, sealing him inside._**

Now begged the question of how to get his reward "I'll deliver the boy to Viggo, himself"

He just had to wait out the search party, sail to Viggo's base, hand over Hiccup and the job would be done.

A paper parchment splashed on board his vessel, a dark and smudged drawing covering the page, but the image itself wasn't what caught the man's attention.

"Return ... Haddock ... Berk ... Gold" the masked man smiled, it appeared Viggo no longer had what he desired, but the one man who cared for the boy did.

A loud chuckle left the man's lips, this changed everything.

 **What has the masked man got planned? And we finally get a glimpse of Hiccup, stay tuned!**


	3. Chapter 3

Stoick and the teens grew tired, having no choice but to rest, the bag of gold held tightly in the chiefs fist "This is what my son is worth ... All those Vikings taking Hiccup for a measly bag of gold!"

"It's despicable" speaks Astrid "Hiccup is priceless to me, to us and all of Berk"

"No amount of gold could ever be worth a life, especially not Hiccup's" agrees Heather

Fishlegs pets Meatlug "Do you think Hiccup's ok? If he really did fall from that cliff ... "

"Hiccup's fine, fishface" states Snotlout "He's always captured, or hurt, or whatever and he's always fine"

"I wouldn't call losing a leg, being captured, struck by lightning and Thor knows what else as fine, Snotlout" berates Fishlegs

Snotlout glares, his hand no longer holding Hookfangs horn "Shut up, fishface"

Astrid sighs as the two continue their argument, the blonde rests her head against Stormfly "I'm really worried girl, sure Hiccup's been captured before, but this time we have no idea what that man is capable of"

"We're going to find Hiccup, Astrid" says Heather

Stoick angrily throws the gold into a nearby tree "Why didn't Hiccup tell me about the bounty?"

Astrid rubs her arms slowly "You know how he is, always has to prove himself"

Stoick shakes his head in denial "He never had to prove himself, I thought he knew that by now"

"Well after dealing with tons of defeats by Viggo and losing all of Berks gold, Hiccup has been on one!" States Snotlout

"I hate to say it, but Snotlouts right" says Fishlegs "Hiccup blames himself for everything that's happened, but losing all of Berks gold ... That's taking a toll on him"

Toothless comforts Stoick as the man slowly breaks down, garbled speech leaving the reptiles throat.

"I was so angry at Hiccup, I told him the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

"That's exactly what he said to me the night he disappeared" speaks Astrid "I tried convincing him to tell you about the bounty, but he wouldn't"

"It's because of what I said ... I drove my son straight into danger" declares Stoick, head hanging low

Suddenly the dragons begin a low growl, spines tingling, teeth bared "What's wrong with them?" Asks Snotlout

Stoick's head rises, the chief rises to his feet upon sight of just what the dragons were reacting to "The masked man"

The masked figure remains standing above the very cliff he and the boy had fallen, he made sure he had Stoick's attention before turning his back and walking away.

Stoick and the teens waste no time, jumping a top the dragons in hot pursuit of the figure

"He's leading us" states Heather

"You think it's a trap? Maybe we should turn back" pipes in Fishlegs nervously

"No, wherever the masked man wants to take us, Hiccup has to be there" states Stoick

"He wants the gold, all we have to do is hand it over and Hiccup's free" beams Astrid

"Great, so we just follow this guy all day? Why not take the lead, beat him, demand he gives us Hiccup and we go our separate ways?" Speaks Snotlout

"It wouldn't work, Snotlout. We don't know anything about this Viking or where in the name of Thor he's keeping my son." Says Stoick

"Look there! It's a ship, Hiccup must be being held there!" Squeaks Fishlegs, pudgy fingers pointing towards the small vessel.

"Windshear and I will circle from above, just in case he tries pulling anything funny on us." States Heather, the pair flying into the skies.

The masked man finally stops his descent, dark eyes following the dragons every move as they hover above.

"Are you the masked Viking that's got my boy?" Asks Stoick, the bag of gold now held directly in the man's line of sight

The figure extends his arm "The gold"

Astrid shakes her head, Stormfly preparing a spine shot "Where's Hiccup?"

The masked man glares, a smile firms underneath his mask "The boy lives, give me the gold"

"I want to see my son, get Hiccup or I'll toss it into the ocean" threatens Stoick "I won't be askin ya again"

The masked man makes no move to obey, enticing Stoick to dangle the precious prize by a simple string "My son, now!"

 **It's almost over folks, one chapter left! And not too long till the next season**


	4. Chapter 4

The masked man finally nods, hands begin pulling on a large chain, the group stares as a medium sized container is pulled from the depths.

"What the heck is that thing?" Questions Snotlout

Astrid's hands cover her mouth upon sight of the contraption literally being pulled from under the ocean "Hiccup!"

Stoick and Toothless launched forwards, hands and snout banging upon the glass "Can ya hear me son?"

"The boy lives" repeated the masked man, large hands remove a metallic coating, revealing the young heir.

Hiccup pulled at the chains confining his hands behind his back and into the floor, struggled to breathe due to the loops of chain knotted around his neck and attempting to scream through the gag tied firmly over his mouth.

"Let him out of there!" Declared Astrid, the blonde running forward as well, axe in hand.

"The gold, give me the gold" demands the masked man, hand outstretched "The boy will be free"

Stoick meets the eyes of his only child, wishing to comfort his terrified boy more than anything "It's alright son, we're taking ya home."

Hiccup's eyes widen, he tried to calm himself down, but the fear of never escaping this prison was getting to him.

Toothless rests his head upon the chamber, pretending it was Hiccup's hand, this being the dragons only way of consoling his human.

Stoick tosses the gold, all of Berks currency into the man's hands, ignoring that shocked look on his boy's face.

the masked man in turn released the chains attached to the pulley, causing his son to drop "No!"

Snotlout and Fishlegs quick as a flash are on the scene, Hookfang and Meatlug tugging the cage out of the water "Good girl Meatlug! Keep pulling."

"Hookfang, do NOT let go of that chain!" Orders Snotlout, with a huff the dragon agreed.

Toothless rushes to help, the container holding Hiccup is pulled from the water, his little human appears shaken as he's slowly lowered back on onboard.

"Hang on son!" Yells Stoick, his fists banging against the glass

"We have to get him out of there" declares Astrid

"Break it open, then! It's not that hard ... Hookfang!"

Said Monstrous Nightmare rears his scaly head, fire puffs emanating from his mouth.

Snotlouts pudgy finger points towards the dome prison "Annihilate!" Hookfang hurriedly agrees, he was tired of all this non-sense, the sooner that scrawny human was free, the sooner they could go home.

Hiccup tries to shield his head as the heated flame soars towards him, melting into the cool glass and hopefully freeing him ... rather than burn him to a crisp.

"Snotlout, no you idiot!" Screams Astrid, followed close behind by Stoick and Fishlegs "That'll kill him!"

"HICCUP, SON!" Yells Stoick as the father falls to his knees, flashbacks to the fight with the red death looping through his head, how powerless he'd felt back then ... He wasn't going to let it happen again.

"I won't lose him again!" Roars the chief as he braves the flames, ignoring the singe and burn "I'm not giving up on you, son"

Stoick was reaching Hiccup, his only child wasn't going to die, not here and especially not now "I'm coming!"

Hands reach out blindly, red and irritated as the fire licks at his uncovered flesh, palms smacking against the burning glass.

The heat finally ceased, Stoick uncovering his head from his fur coat "Hiccup?"

A lanky, huddled figure braced against the back wall, gag chewed all the way through and chains slowly melting.

Stoick charges through the gapping opening the fire had left, fists clenched as the father pulls on the chains with all his vigor.

Astrid quits beating Snotlout as the chains binding Hiccup are snapped, said teen reaching up to remove the shackles and neck brace.

"Are you alright, son?" Expressed Stoick, father helping his boy remove the restraints "I'm so sorry, Hiccup"

Hiccup relishes as the freedom to breath properly is returned "I'm ok"

Hiccup's husky and dry voice brings back all that hope of saving the heir, Astrid running to help the man she loved reach his feet.

"Hiccup ... Where's your leg?" Questions the blonde

Hiccup turns away from her, facing where the masked man had been standing earlier "Let's just go home"

Astrid shakily nods and leads the teen over to his waiting dragon and father, the blonde jumping a top Stormfly "Come on guys, let's go get the twins and meet up at Berk."

"Oh, ok ok, bye Hiccup! Glad you're alright" says Fishlegs

"As usual we save the day, fly off into the sunset and not even a thank you!" Begrudges Snotlout "some people"

"Thank you, guys" Hiccup smiles as his friends all fly off, green eyes roam upon his Dragon "Hey bud, miss me?"

Toothless snorts, ears flapping at his human as if to say I told you so. Stoick laughs "Couldn't have said it any better myself, Toothless"

Hiccup's head lowers, he screwed up big time "Dad, I'm sorry. I know I should have told you about the bounty, it's just-"

"Hiccup, I'm to blame for all this too, I've been to hard on ya about losing all of Berks gold ... I agreed to your plan and almost lost ya. I'm so sorry son"

"No, it's my fault. I've let Viggo beat me too many times, I just can't seem to beat the guy! He's always seven steps ahead of me ... I lost all of Berks gold, almost got the gang and Gobber killed, Toothless sold!"

Hiccup begins to hyperventilate, gasps leaving his now coughing mouth, causing Stoick to hold his son closer, gently patting his back.

"Hiccup! Hiccup, you're alright son, calm down"

Crushed sobs meet Stoick's ears as his only son breaks down in his arms, strong hands hold the wailing boy.

"I ... Can't do this anymore dad! Beating Viggo is all I can think about, if I don't the dragons, you, the gang even all of Berk will be in danger!"

Stoick forces Hiccup's head upwards, emerald meeting sapphire "You listen to me son, it's not all up to you to defeat that mad man. We are a team, you're never alone in this fight. You have to trust in us, Hiccup."

Hiccup's erratic breathing slows, tears freeze as the words are heard "But the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few ... I can't ask for anyone else to put themselves in this position, dad"

Stoick smiles "We're Vikings son, it's an occupational hazard" Hiccup laughs "That, that we do"

"Ya don't have to ask us to join the fight, the moment Viggo came after you I became involved. We're a team son, all of us. They come after one, they get us all. I'm sorry for everything, I shouldn't have been so hard on ya lately."

Hiccup shrugs, hand patting his now gummily smiling Dragon "Eh, I've been pretty difficult to talk to lately, I just lost sight of everything, but that's over. We're going to take Viggo down, together."

Stoick bellows, hand clapping over Hiccup's shoulder "Aye son, that we will, let's go home."

 **And there we have it! This episode was by far my favorite in the series, can't wait for season 5 premiering August 25th! Hope you all enjoyed it**


End file.
